It is evident that every year around this time, the Oscars arrive in full effect, and with the ceremony comes all the anticipation and hype of who is going to win and, malevolently, “who” someone is wearing. Though we are often distracted by the “hot-mess” couture that patrons of the awards so foolishly decide to wear, the night itself is, more importantly, the most celebrated evening in film, and we should instead focus on the dexterity of the actors and actresses. After accurate predictions from last week’s Oscar preview (courtesy of Ethan Gates ’12) and seeing all of the nominated films for this year’s awards, I was compelled to grade the the distribution of awards; they are as follows:

Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker”

Grade: A-

Rationale: Although “Precious” was my personal pick for this award, “The Hurt Locker”’s victory shows everyone that James Cameron is, quite frankly, no longer the “king of the world” of film.

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”)

Grade: B+

Rationale: Though he was drunk 75 percent of the time on set, trying to figure out exactly who Jeff Bridges was in this role was a challenge. Out of the five performances for Best Actor, this was rightfully honored.

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

Grade: C+

Rationale: The performance was good, but not great. Considering the exceptional screenplay, any other middle-aged actress could have played this role and it would have been just as good. Even though Gabourey Sidibe (“Precious”) was my preference, I would have rather seen Meryl Streep walk away with it over Sandra. Sorry, Miss Congeniality.

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”)

Grade: A

Rationale: What’s great about this award is that Kathryn did an exceptional job crafting this film. What’s hilarious about it, however, is that she beat James Cameron, whom she divorced back in 1991.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (“Inglourious Basterds”)

Grade: A-

Rationale: Plainly put: he made a grown man cry while simultaneously drinking milk. Well done.

Best Supporting Actress: Mo’nique (“Precious”)

Grade: A

Rationale: After winning every single supporting actress award known to man, this was clearly no surprise to anyone.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher (“Precious”)

Grade: A

Rationale: Geoffrey Fletcher composed an intense screenplay that brought to life the educational disparity that is, even with an African-American president, prevalent in America today. Adaptations of plays derived from books are a challenge; however, Fletcher’s craft in this film reasonably and rightfully earned him his triumph as the first African-American to win this award.

Best Animated Feature Film: “Up”

Grade: B+

Rationale: This film was hard to follow at times, but nothing is better than the dichotomy of a grumpy old man and a heavy set Boy Scout.